As you know, following an interview on
Channel 4 on Sharia law, Islamists threatened Sudanese secular
campaigner and Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain Spokesperson Nahla Mahmoud
with death, calling her a “Kafira” and “Murtada” who has offended Islam and
brought “fitnah”. One of those making the threats was Salah al Bandar (or Salah
al Bander) who has until recently been a Liberal Democrat Councillor.
Spencer Hagard, Chair of the
Cambridge Liberal Democrats, initiated an investigation into the allegations
against al Bandar and found them “groundless”. Instead, he said the inquiry
“increased previously high esteem for” al Bandar. This despite the fact that an
independent translation was not carried out by the Lib Dems to verify the
threats made nor was any of the documented threats made against Nahla Mahmoud
addressed other than to say that the quotes were a “gross distortion”, and
“utterly misrepresented”. See
article on this here.
Kafir(a) and Murtad(a) are well
known derogatory terms meaning infidel and apostate; moreover, fitnah is
another derogatory term against disobedient women who are seen to be the source
of chaos or affliction in society. Given that apostasy is punishable by death
in ten countries including Sudan, and a prosecutable offence in many more, the
terms can hardly be considered positive and open to distortion.
Rather than addressing the
specific threats made against Nahla Mahmoud, al Bandar mentions his “dedicat to
individual human rights”, including with organisations like Sudan Organisation
Against Torture (SOAT).
The Council of Ex-Muslims of
Britain finds this wholly unacceptable and calls on the Lib Dems to provide a
detailed response with regards the complaint against al Bandar. His
questionable “human rights” record is irrelevant and can hardly be used in his
defence.
SOAT, the group al Bandar cites
as proof of his commitment to human rights, has in fact had problems with him.
Founding members of the organisation wrote a letter in September 2008 saying
that the board of trustees headed by al Bandar was acting “opposite to its
vision and values.” They went on to say: “we have serious concerns and doubts
about the constituency and legitimacy of the current board of trustees of the
organisation. We believe that the election procedure of the board was
inappropriate, lacked transparency and equal opportunities to participate. In
fact it has been manipulated. As a result, we have explained and informed the
UK Charity Commission of the current situation.” The
letter can be seen here.
In another open letter to Salah
al Bandar in August 2008, a number of human rights organisations and activists
wrote about the “distressing attempts to undermine organisations and activists”
in Sudan, including actions “not in line with the values of the human rights
movement”, such as “failure to pay financial remuneration to staff and
volunteers” and the “campaign of unfair dismissals against the organisations’
human rights defenders”, which according to the letter “violates the core
principles of the rights for which we are still working”. The letter can be
found here: Pages 1-2, Pages
3-4.
Liz Hodgkin, the previous head
of Amnesty International’s Sudan section, refused
to receive an award from SOAT in August 2008, for
reasons explained in a letter to Salah al Bandar. “I felt very honoured when I
was told I had a prize from SOAT in honour of Nazik Mohammed Osman, since I
admired so greatly Nazik Osman and enormously respect the past work of SOAT.
However, since the public announcement ... I understand that there are deep
problems within the organization between the Board of Trustees and the workers
and activists on the ground in the Khartoum Centre for Human Rights and
Environmental Development in Khartoum. I have no wish and no right to make a
pronouncement as to the rights and wrongs of the conflict between staff members
and the board of trustees of the Sudan Organization Against Torture. However, I
feel that in a situation of such division you should not now be awarding a prize
in honour of Nazik Osman Mahmoud and I am not able to accept such a prize.” She
added: “A human rights organization has to be especially careful to maintain
the human rights of those who work for it and with it.”
Furthermore, that same year, al
Bandar used personal information obtained from Bashair Ahmed’s employee file at
SOAT to intervene in her case against
Amnesty International regarding race discrimination.
Bashair issued a public
letter to al Bandar saying: “I don’t know you nor know why you
decided to pick up on my case and target the organisation in a way which seems
personal and doubting the credibility and overall commitment of the
organisation toward human rights. Your invasion to my personal and family life,
without permission, collecting information and posting it around - including
many untrue details- have complicated my personal and professional life and
created serious concerns among many family members. You have also used your
position as the head of SOAT, which I used to work at long time before you were
hired, to access confidential and personal information from my folder there. I
would like to remind you here that this could be considered as a crime
according to the UK Data Protection Act 1998, which the organisation is signed
up to.”
Another organisation, the Sudanese Communist
Party/UK and Ireland branch, of which Al Bandar was a
member, issued a statement on 17 January 2012 saying al Bandar has
“used many different mechanisms including lying, spying, manipulating,
black-mailing, and doubting the credibility and commitment of many members of
the Communist Party”.
The statement said al Bandar
used three main approaches in doing this, namely “targeting the work and
members of the Sudanese Communist Party in the UK”, and “divid, creat conflicts
on both political and social levels among the diaspora opposition and its
networks especially in the UK.” His third approach was “destroying Sudanese
human rights’ organisations. Especially those which investigate and document
human rights abuses and violations of the current government in order to take
further legal actions. The ‘Sudanese organisation for Human Rights’ is one
example where he accused its general secretary Abd Alsalam Hassan and other members
of fraud. He handed out a statement at the same day of the organisation's AGM
concluding so. His statement was dismissed after the actual financial report
was presented. Another example was creating conflicts and destroying- along
with others- the work of the ‘Sudanese Organisation Against Torture (SOAT)’/
UK, which used to play a significant role through its partner organisations in
Sudan, in documenting torture cases, leading trials and putting international
pressure on the Sudanese government under the increasing violations and abuses
in Sudan."
The Council of Ex-Muslims of
Britain calls on the Lib Dems to address the documented evidence of al Bandar's
threats rather than listing his questionable human rights record.
Al Bandar may think the usual
double speak of saying one thing to an Arabic-speaking audience and another to
an English-speaking one will suffice as a defence as it clearly has for Hagard.
Nonetheless, we insist on a proper investigation.
Moreover, when approached by
Nahla Mahmoud, the police said that nothing could be done and that Nahla should
try not to “anger” al Bandar any further. The CEMB reiterates its call on the
police to take the matter of threats against Nahla Mahmoud and ex-Muslims
seriously and to take action to protect her.
Hundreds of individuals and
groups have already signed on to an open letter calling for the authorities to
take action. You (and/or your organisation) can read more about the specific
threats made by al Bandar and sign
the open letter here.
As can be expected, this issue
had hardly been covered by the mainstream media other than by Nick
Cohen in the Spectator and Anne
Marie Waters in Standpoint
magazine.
NOTES
1. 14 September Rally and
March for Secularism: Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain is endorsing the Central
London Humanist Group's Secular Europe March and Rally on Saturday 14th
September 2013. We will assemble at 12.30pm in Temple Place, next to
Temple Tube Station; the March will start at 1.00pm and end in a Rally at
Richmond Terrace, opposite Downing Street at around 2pm. Confirmed
speakers include Sue Cox (Survivors Voice), Charlie Klendjian (Lawyers Secular
Society), Rory Fenton (AHS President), Philosopher AC Grayling, Adam Knowles
(Chair of GALHA - LGBT Humanists), Philosopher Stephen Law, Houzan Mahmoud
(Organisation for Iraqi Women’s Freedom), Nahla Mahmoud (Council of Ex Muslims
of Britain), Maryam Namazie (Fitnah, CEMB and One Law for All), Pragna Patel
(Southall Black Sisters), Naomi Phillips (Chair of Labour Humanists), Nina
Sankari (Polish Rationalist Association) and Anne Marie Waters (One Law for
All) amongst others. More information available here: Join event page on Facebook and Event
page on Meetup. We will be using the hashtag #SECM2013.
2. Other events: In the
upcoming months, there will be evening drinks in London with philosopher Arif
Ahmed and a meet-up of apostate asylum seekers and refugees on 19 September;
lunch in Manchester on 24 August and Birmingham on 7 September organised by the
Northern Ex-Muslim Meetup Group and the CEMB’s Annual General Meeting on 12
October 2013 in London. More
details can be found here.
3. Support us: Help us to
continue our important work: volunteer your skills; ‘Like’ our Facebook page;
follow our Twitter account @CEMB_forum;
join our events; and
subscribe to our YouTube channel.
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individuals and the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science UK.
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